Sketchy Beginnings Part One

We used to have a large L-shaped sectional couch, back when I still sketched almost every day, with a wide flat armrest at each end, nearly perfect for resting a clipboard on.  There was also the dining room table of course, but a couple of things we did not have were a computer and a gaming console.  Modern life has its distractions...

Right now my clipboard sits just inches away from my trackball mouse, but I haven't sketched since last weekend (and it's Friday night).

Back in the day when a concept was on my mind I would sketch it over and over, covering a page or two and sometimes more.  When I started sketching this one, the image below was at the bottom of the first page:

Gen III AKA "BlueStar" AKA "Model C"

...But even then, I manipulated the image on this computer before posting it to Google Plus.  Click the hyperlink below the image to view the what I wrote in the post, plus comments.

Basically what is happening is that I've become inspired, as explained in my most recent post LOSING MY AMATEUR STATUS?, to apply my creative focus toward concepts for Tesla Motors.  A side effect of my interest in this manufacturer and its products is a revival of all Tellurian Motors concepts, as the Tesla platforms would provide excellent bases for Tellurians.

Finally a path has been illuminated, that leads to the ultimate goal of building vehicles purely of my own design -- but wait.  That's not what this is about.  I'm not motivated to work with Tesla because it would eventually lead to the birth of Tellurian Motors.  It's not a stepping stone.  No, I'm genuinely inspired here, my mind swimming with concepts for Tesla Motors...

...of which the "Model C" is NOT one, to be frank.  While I find it an interesting exercise to treat the concept as if I had some say in how it will appear in production, I am under no disillusion that the ship hasn't already sailed -- or at least will have done, by the time anyone at Tesla Motors becomes aware of what I've been doing.

All I can do with the C is demonstrate my capability -- and so far, I'm coming up short.  While there is quite a lot in my head about this vehicle, not much of it has been put on paper.  As Tegan Quin says in that early epic song Superstar(Red Demo version), "...thoughts are less than actions brought, and I am still NOTHING in common face."

more of GenIII

Again, click the hyperlink below the image to view the what I wrote in the post, plus comments.

It's weird going back to curves after years of doing my best to eliminate them, and it's a challenge to use someone else's design language to make a vehicle appealing and distinctively Tesla while possessing its own personality, but this project is important for my portfolio.  With practice I expect to produce sketches worthy of being presented to the company.  Meanwhile I will continue to record my progress, here and on Google Plus.

Stay crunchy.

filsmyth

August 17, 2013

o_0

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LOSING MY AMATEUR STATUS?

In June and July 2013 I became inspired...

At the beginning of June I manipulated an image of a Tesla Model X, turning it into a ute-style pickup.  Thought it would be cool if they did something like that, but it isn't exactly an original idea, so I didn't think too much of it...

...Until later, after I came up with another couple of concepts for Tesla Motors that I thought were valid.  I did more image manipulations, and started sketching again.  The XT spawned the XTX, a 5-seater with falcon-wing doors...

I began to think that I would actually really like to work with Tesla Motors, which, as I look back, appears to be an unprecedented feeling.  In the 30+ years that I've been conceiving and drawing vehicles, there has never been a single manufacturer that has so captured my attention.

Basically I've always wanted to build cars of my own design, and not for anyone else, because there has always been an huge gap between concept and production, too much getting changed along the way.  The dream was (and still is) to have my own company, and so be free to dream up and build whatever I wanted.

How much closer am I to that dream than I was 30 years ago?

I've incorporated Tellurian Motors into a novel, along with a few other daydreams, but since the novel is still only in my head it's really no more than an elaborate daydream itself...

SO NOW HERE'S THE QUESTION:

Am I good enough at automotive design to become a professional?  More to the point, will Tesla Motors give me a chance to show what I can do?

At the beginning of 2009 (while I was still running Window$) I had an evaluation copy of a CAD program, and was in the middle of a project when the trial period ran out, just as I was getting the hang of it.  Soon after that I began using LINUX exclusively, and have not been able to find CAD software for LINUX that will work with my somewhat dated hardware.  I'm willing to switch to something from Apple and even PAY for software, itching to get back into 3D-CAD.

Meanwhile it seems pencil sketches will be the best medium in which to display my design talent, so I will continue with them.

Here's one I did yesterday:

If you search this blog you'll find posts on the Deora III from 2009.  I started sketching it again the recently after realizing Tesla's GenIV platform would suit this vehicle perfectly...

...Apparently trucks are next, after GenIII.

These images and more can be found in my Concepts album on g+, along with feature descriptions.  Often things get explained in more detail within comments on my posts.

I'm sort of building a portfolio, so expect the album to keep growing.

At some point, probably very soon, I'll have to go ahead and start sketching the GenIII car.  Franz von Holzhausen should already have a clear direction to follow for its design, and previously I had a wait-and-see attitude about this model, but showing what I can do with it may be the best way to get Tesla Motors' attention.

Wish me luck.

o_o

vehicles for planet Earth and beyond

^^  New banner image.

B-)

filsmyth

22 June 2012

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Precursor

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the PRECURSOR

In "Angular Momentum" I described a new concept that I called, at the time, 'Tellurian Targa'. Since then I've looked up the word, just to be clear of its origin, and was reminded that it's become a Porsche trademark. Decided to rename the concept quickly, just so the working name didn't get burned in my mind...

...But what to call it? To find an appropriate name, I thought it best to get it clear in my head just what the concept represented. What was it, really?

Well it's an electric vehicle, started out as a sports car with a targa roof but grew a covered bed, so technically it's a pickup. Hmm. No name there, at least nothing that doesn't sound contrived (or isn't copyrighted). Nothing alphanumeric sprang to mind either.

However this vehicle represents something very specific. It is being designed for the time we live in, where without access to free energy technology we are still relying on batteries -- and to achieve temporary extended range, we have to leave room for an onboard generator or extra battery pack. It also comes along before Tellurian Motors is established, but in anticipation of that future range of vehicles it is engineered with the free energy future in mind (for one, it does not use regenerative braking).

So. This concept is not only a precursor to the entity that will be known as Tellurian Motors, but a prelude (can't use that name either) to the future of electric vehicles in general.

As has happened so often in this blog, I'm posting without an image. This time it's because the form is still morphing in my mind. I don't want it to look like a pickup at all -- with the tonneau in place it will just look like a mid-motor sports car. The rear window is looking more and more like a wide slot, and I've decided to extend the flying buttresses all the way to the rear of the tonneau. It's also gotten less and less rounded, more angular, but not quite approaching the flat-panel look of my other concepts. It does share the slant above the beltline, though, and for a practical reason. The roof is narrowed in this way, to aid ingress and egress for such a low vehicle. The doors can hinge along this angle, flipping up and out, not 'scissor' but more 'butterfly'.

The front features a band of LED running lights that wraps all the way around the trailing edge of the bumper, separating it from the front decklid, fenders, and full bellypan, and incorporating the turn signals. This connects to vertically-stacked projector headlights behind rectangular lenses...

...and I just thought of this: Between the headlights, and between the LED band and the front decklid, is a rectangular panel that flips forward to reveal an area that houses the primary charging port and an extension cord.

For the rear I'm seeing a pair of red neon tubes backed by LEDs -- the neon comes on when the headlights do, and the LEDs only come on for brake lights and turn signals. These are mounted a bit low, in an opening below the tailgate and above the bumper, flanking the license plate. Reverse lights are largish round units centered behind and bisected by the tubes. Small round reflectors can be incorporated here, in the center of those tubes, and as seen from directly behind, centered on the reverse lights. All this is mounted on an exhaust grille for a bit of rear 'ground-effect' downforce ducting.

Also the front bumper has an opening for a downforce duct (housing nice little round yellow foglights), airflow exiting at the leading edge of the decklid.

Body will be GRP (glass-reinforced plastic), not the stainless steel of a true Tellurian. This means paint. For a signature colour, I'd like to match that curious blue that always seems to appear in solar panels -- and we might as well call it 'Curious Blue' (completely unrelated to Chrysler's 'Curious Yellow' of the early 1970s).

The vehicle has no mirrors, utilizing cameras and monitors instead.

Maybe you can't picture the Precursor yet, but I can, and writing about a concept in the way I have above actually helps quite a bit in my design process.

Not sure how soon images will be available, but I will post them here on the Tellurian Motors blog.

[UPDATE: Concept partially sketched, photo added (top) Tuesday August 30, 2011.]

Stay crunchy.

filsmyth

05August2011

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Angular Momentum

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The Tellurian Targa

A couple of years ago I joined Local Motors, which is a venture in automotive crowdsourcing. Haven't entered any of the competitions, but have been active in the Rally, roadster, what next? forum thread...

The consensus seems to be that the next LM vehicle to be produced should be an electric sports car, and indeed the company is planning to engineer and build an electric platform soon. Before I learned of that, however, I got antsy and decided to put pencil to paper, sharing most of my quick, rough sketches in the thread.

Here is the latest:

'TELLURIAN TARGA'

Now of course I don't want to do anything for LM in Tellurian Motors' flat-panel design language, so this means I'm having to get used to drawing curves again...

Before this concept sprouted an 'open cargo area' it already had the removable roof panel and targa bar, and since my ID on the LM site is 'Tellurian', well, the vehicle sort of named itself.

The folding tonneau cover (which when folded, disappears below the rear window) is composed of 4 solar panels. These might not offer much charging capacity, but every little bit helps. Plus, the secondary charging point used by these can also be used by a small, ordinary generator that one might load up for use as a range extender on longer trips.

To be quite honest, I hadn't thought of the genset option until after I'd already decided on what is technically a small pickup configuration -- simply to increase cargo capacity. Some call this 'synchronicity'...

YES, I'm going against my own design ethos in a couple of ways by working on this concept -- it doesn't use flat panels, nor free energy...

...Not yet, anyway.

filsmyth

29July2011

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Bare-Bones Sophistication

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As you may know, Tellurian Motors has been dovetailed, along with some of my other daydreams, into a work of fiction. The novel, Virtual Dreamer, is set in the near future -- and may or may not ever get written. Development is continual within my own mindspace, but abortive attempts at actual writing felt premature. A certain amount of pressure exists around this task, but only from within -- the day (or night, more likely) is imminent, when I'll finally jump into it and barely rest until it's finished...

...So what am I doing writing a blog, you may be wondering, while I have a novel to work on? Good question -- but it may (or may not) be part of my process (if I have one) to continue the conceptual development of vehicles that will be featured in the story. Without further ado:

TELLURIAN RUNABOUT

bare-bones sophistication

No, I still don't have images of the Runabout to share... Hang on, let me sketch something...

...Okay. My coffee didn't even get cold. Problem with sketching so quickly is that it's not very precise, and some things have been left out...

Let's start with those big round rallye lights. Maybe they should be set back a bit, within the frame -- and maybe they don't quite fit the futuristic theme, but let me explain:

Sure, you might expect a trapezoidal panel filled with LEDs here (and you wouldn't be wrong to), but the Runabout is to be the first-ever purpose-built Tellurian Motors vehicle (after an electric conversion or two) and as such will be extremely prototypical. Off-the-shelf components will have to serve as placeholders for bespoke items yet to be developed.

Also missing from the sketch is a cut line in the polycarbonate of the side-window/hatch area. Just imagine one running straight up from the back of the front wheel well to the top of the A-pillar (windshield frame). For a long time I thought there would be a (removable) one-piece hatch on each side, each with a little round access door, but now as I look at the sketch I think a 'vent window' or 'wind wing' approach makes more sense.

Remember? Okay, well maybe you've been in a car or truck that has a section of door window at the leading edge, that doesn't roll down with the rest. 'Back in the day', there were vent windows there, that pivoted -- very useful for catching a breeze, if you didn't have air conditioning.

Speaking of which, yes, the Runabout was originally conceived for the Bonneville Salt Flats -- so yes it DOES have A/C, quite powerful for a vehicle of its size, and mirror-tinted windows all around.

...So what do I mean by 'bare-bones sophistication'? Well for one this is, as you can see (wow, I finally produced a sketch), a very simple little vehicle, perfect for a first attempt at vehicle construction. However from its first inception it has been about comfort (a bit of escape from the heat and blinding reflected sunlight of the salt flats) -- and it can be used as a rolling testbed for various systems and applications.

The first example is likely to be very crude indeed, like a cross between a golf cart and a UTV -- but there is (if I may say so) a simple sophistication in the design itself.

As for its appearance in the novel, well, you'll have to wait...

filsmyth

June 2, 2010

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Deora III Goes 'Local'

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Less than 2 months ago I discovered something called Local Motors, a new company that 'crowdsources' vehicles. They've developed an online community to share in the design process... How could I not join?

Struggled briefly with the question of which of my designs to throw into the ring. Figured it should be the one with the least family resemblance to other Tellurian Motors vehicles, so my Deora redux fit the bill. Plus, it's conceptually based on someone else's design, so there ya go. Check my profile page.




These sketches have not yet been uploaded to the Local Motors site, and I'm not sure they will be. The LM community is filled with amateurs (and a few professionals) used to seeing slick presentations and renders done with expensive 3D software -- and I've been pestered by a teenager and a twentysomething, both very vocal and opinionated.

The good news is that my participation on the site got me to become more serious about taking this particular daydream and transferring it to paper, then to the computer. It's all well and good to have something in your head, but the real development begins when you attempt to share your vision with others.




Where the orginal Deora show truck was a barely functional vehicle, lacking side windows and completely unusable as a truck, and the Deora II was a Hot Wheels design that was unbelievably interpreted into a full-sized and driveable
yet still completely useless spectacle, I approached Deora III from the beginning as a functional light truck.

It may not be the most practical truck, but most truck owners never use their vehicles to their full potential anyway.

Since both the Deora and Deora II Hot Wheels models included tiny plastic surfboards, I realized I should not ignore the surf connection -- and since not every surf spot has a nice smooth parking lot, Deora III ought to be able to drive right out onto any beach (and get back from it). Yes, that means it needs 4WD and appreciable ground clearance...

It also just about requires that it has some means of securing at least 2 surfboards -- and for this I've envisioned a twin set of removable, folding racks (that could be mounted in the bed of any pickup that has those square holes in the tops of the bedsides). Each rack would hold 2 boards and 'lock' in both horizontal and vertical positions. Need to carry more than 4? There's room under the racks, and a cargo net to keep them from sliding around too much.

You're absolutely correct if, while looking at my digital images, you think the bed isn't long enough. The sketches were done later, and show a longer wheelbase.




Any questions?



filsmyth
01December2009

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